Relievo – 36pt

Description

Surely this 1878 gem is one of the most iconic of all 19th century type faces. Cast from the matrices recut by Charles Broad about 1960, it includes caps and figures, the points and auxiliaries shown, and the three different pairs of line-ends. There is also a pair of supplementary ornaments, original to the design, that can be composed back-to-back to make a center ornament above and/or below the type, as shown in the first line of the specimen. These ornaments appear to have been made to work as “gussets” with one of the sets of line-ends. This is shown in the second line, but due to the complex fitting of the type, these recut orns don’t match up to the line as tightly as they should. There are also two thicknesses of word space, as shown on either side of the sterling. This project required extraordinary measures to produce, including modifications to the casting machine and hand-finishing each and every type.